Rest In Peace, Sir Fred Phillips…

27022011

Outstanding Vincentian - Sir Fred Phillips

by Global News staff

ST JOHN’S, Antigua — Well known and outstanding Vincentian, Sir Fred Phillips, who was the first black governor of what was then known as St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, has died. He was 92, and passed away at his home in Hodges Bay in Antigua on Sunday night after a prolonged illness.

Before serving as governor, Sir Fred was Administrator and also served as Cabinet Secretary of the West Indies Federation from 1960 to 1962. He was also Senior Assistant Registrar of the University of the West Indies from 1966 and 1967 and Chairman of the Grenada Telecommunications Ltd, Telecoms of Dominica, and US Agency for International Development (USAID) Agricultural Venture Trust.

Sir Fred authored many publications, among them West Indian Constitutions: Post Independence Reform (1985); Caribbean Life and Culture: A citizen reflects (1991); Commonwealth Caribbean Law (2002); Ethics of the Legal Profession (2004); and The Death Penalty and Human Rights (2009), among others.

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, Denzil Douglas, expressed “deep sadness, personal loss and sincere condolences” and said that the appointment of the late Sir Fred Phillips in the mid-1960s as the first black administrator and then first black governor of the then St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla “was a moment rich with symbolism, promise and import”.

He added that the St. Vincent-born jurist “was a child of the Caribbean whose accomplishments and contributions were vast and expansive”.